Buddhism is one of the important religions of world. Albeit Lord Buddha was not born in Andhra Desa, but the contribution of Andhra Desa to Buddhism is not small. Famous Buddhist Stupas and Viharas as seen at Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda, Bhattiprolu, Guntupalli, Chandavaram are only a few to name in Andhra Desa. With the passing time, new discoveries on Buddhism are pouring in from different corners. Recent discoveries of Totlakonda, Bavikonda, Pavuralakonda etc. from Andhra Pradesh throw welcome light on the subject. This publication contains the papers presented at the seminar, "Contribution of Andhra Desa to Buddhism" organized by Birla Archaeological & Cultural Research Institute, Hyderabad a few years ago. The purpose of the seminar is to bring to light the new discoveries and throw further light on the already existing information on Buddhism from Andhra Desa in particular and India in general. Research is a never ending process and results of research will always be either finding out something new or updating the existing information with the new discoveries. This publication contains papers submitted by both seasoned and budding scholars covering almost all the aspects of Buddhism like art, architecture, philosophy, survey reports, excavation findings etc. As mentioned above, there are papers altogether with new discoveries and papers highlighting new points on the already existing information.

G. Kamalakar (ed.)
Dr. Kamalakar Gundepudi obtained his Masterís Degree in 1975 from Andhra University and Ph.D. in 1985 from Nagarjuna University. He is with Birla Archaeological & Cultural Research Institute (BACRI) Hydera-bad since 1978 and presently he is the Director of BACRI. He did his P.G. Diploma in Museology from Osmania University in 1995 and is the recipient of Salar Jung Gold Medal for that year. From the same University he obtained his P.G. Diploma in Archival Science & Manuscriptology in the year 1999. He is a recognized supervisor for guiding Ph.D. students in the field of Archaeology and allied subjects and examiner for Post Graduate and Doctoral examinations for many universities. To his credit he has organized several national and inter-national seminars as Director of BACRI on different topics. He has edited and published several publications apart from several research articles on archaeology and conservation. He has participated and directed several excavations since 1978 which include Veerapuram, Vaddamanu, Gara-padu, Pudur etc. He has also participated in under-water explorations off Arabian Sea at Dwaraka and Betdwaraka under-taken by National Institute of Oceanography (Goa) in collaboration with BACRI.

Vol.1: 1. Buddhist Schools in Early Andhra; 2. Remarks on Nagarjuna's Dates and Philosophical Position; 3. Ideological Transformation of Buddhism in Early Historic Andhra; 4. Walking on the Eightfold Path in Dhamma; 5. The Abhidhamma Theory of Personality; 6. Buddhism & Hinduism - the Ikshvaku Patronage at Nagarjunakonda; 7. Buddhism in Andhra Pradesh and Acharya Nagarjuna; 8. Buddhist Vestiges in and around Thanjavur; 9. Spatial Conventions in the Art of Andhra Pradesh: Classical Influence? 10. Life and Legends of the Buddha on Amaravati Reliefs; 11. The Sculptural Art of Chandavaram; 12. Buddha - The Ninth Incarnation of Vishnu; 13. Depiction of the Buddha in Indian Miniatures: Mid 15th Century to 19th Century; 14. Buddhism vs Jainism in Andhra; 15. Contribution of Andhradesa to Buddhism; 16. Singala Sutta - The Art of Living; 17. Buddhist Sites in South Coastal Andhra: A Case Study; 18. Contribution of Sarahapada, Nagarjuna and Aryadeva to Buddhist Thought - The Tibetan Eye View; 19. Buddhism in Karnataka; 20. History of Buddhism in Andhra; 21. Alien Cultural Motifs in the Early Indian Art; 22. Buddhadatta and Atthakathas; 23. Buddhist Ethics as Expounded in Vinaya Pitaka - A Study; 24. Buddhist Art of Nagarjunakonda; 25. Symbolical Representation of the Buddha in the Art of Nagarjunakonda; 26. Buddhist Society: Their use and Sustenance of Trade of Trade Routes, Technology and Art Forms on the basis of antiquarian Remains from Madhya Pradesh; 27. Acharya Nagarjuna's Philosophical Contribution - Some Salient Feature; 28. Mandhata Legend as Found Depicted in Early Buddhist Art of Andhra; 29. Buddhist Missionaries and Asokan Envoys; 30. The Cult of the Bodily Relics of the Buddha; 31. A New Light on the Location of Potalaka and Srimoolavasam - The Ancient Buddhist Centres.

Vol.2: 1. Buddhism and Andhra Culture; 2. The Buddhist anticipation of Human Rights;3. Buddhism and Christianity: An analogy;4. Reaffirmation of Buddha's Direct Knowledge: Nagarjuna and Buddhaghosa; 5. A Buddhist Site at Nandalur-Adapur in Cuddapah District; 6. A Critical Study of the Hinayana Stupe at chandavaram; 7. Some Problems of Interpretation of Mahayana Texts with Special Reference to Nagarjuna; 8. Self and Suffering in Early Buddhism;9. Archaeological Discoveries at Lumbini: The Birth-place of Lord Buddha; 10. Buddhapada in the Early Art of Andhradesa; 11. Narrative Structure and the Significance of the Snake Jatakas in Buddhist Art; 12. Narrative Art - Communication of Buddhist Ideals; 13. Critical Assessment of the Idea and Ideology of Bodhisattva; 14. Analysis of Word and Meaning in Madhyamika Philosophy; 15. Buddhist Art of Amaravati; 16. Nagarjuna as Author of Suhrullekha and Ratnavali and his Eventual Center of Actaivity as Southern Kosala; 17. The Cultural Relations between Andhradesa and Sri Lanka with Special Reference to Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda; 18. Andhras' Contribution to Mahayana Buddhism; 19. Nava Kammikas: The Early Buddhist Sculptures and Architects of Andhradesa (200 BC - 600 AD); 20. Buddhist Monuments of Andhradesa: Geographical Position and Conservation Methods; 21. Pushpagiri - A Buddhist Site in Cuddapah District (AP); 22. Buddhist Monuments of Chandavaram (AP); 23. Thangkas- The Holy Banners of Tibet; 24. The Tantra Texts ascribed to Nagarjuna; 25. Counter-marks of Buddhist Symbols on the Roman Coins found in Andhra Desa; 26. Acharya Dharmakirti and his Contribution to Buddhism; 27. Communication and Buddhsit Art: The Krishna Valley Episode; 28. Dialectic with special Reference to the Madhyamika; 29. Logic in Buddhist Rationalism; 30. The Concept of Tathata.